Dakota Myracle

A 21-year-old man will spend much of his young adult life behind bars after having illegal sexual contact with two 15-year-old girls and allegedly victimizing others.

Across separate proceedings in Park and Big Horn counties, Dakota L. Myracle pleaded “no contest” to two felony counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor. The charges relate to separate victims in Powell and Lovell.

Myracle agreed to serve a combined sentence of 18 to 20 years in prison — the maximum sentence for second-degree sexual abuse — as part of a deal that involved prosecutors agreeing not to file more charges related to other “known victims.” They also dropped a count alleging that Myracle strangled a different 16-year-old girl that he’d been dating in Lovell.

Deputy Park County Prosecuting Attorney Ericka Smith said the arrangement accounted for the multiple victims, the resources that will be saved by avoiding a trial and, most importantly, sparing the young alleged victims the trauma of having to testify in court.

Smith called the prison time appropriate, and Park County District Court Judge Bill Simpson agreed at a Monday hearing.

Myracle’s 18- to 20-year sentence in Park County will overlap with a 12- to 18-year sentence that was imposed in Big Horn County in September.

Myracle had been living in Lovell at the time of his arrest, after previously living in Tennessee.

Charging documents say the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office began investigating Myracle in late summer 2024, after a parent reported the then-20-year-old was victimizing underage girls.

Sheriff’s deputies in Big Horn and Park counties eventually learned that Myracle had intercourse with two 15-year-old girls within the span of a few weeks.

In the earlier encounter, which occurred in Lovell, the victim was reportedly “very drunk” on alcohol that Myracle had supplied.

“I explained to [the girl] due to the fact she is only 15 and Myracle is 20 years of age, she had been sexually assaulted,” Big Horn Sheriff’s Deputy Keri Angell wrote in an affidavit.

A couple weeks later, Myracle began a relationship with another girl in Powell, charging documents say. He soon sent the teen a Snapchat message asking her to marry him, but she noted how young she was.

A few days later, Myracle sexually abused the girl, the charging documents say. She told authorities that Myracle didn’t stop when she asked him to and had caused her physical pain.

Park County Sheriff’s Investigator Clayton Creel later obtained a search warrant for Myracle’s phone and accessed his Snapchat account. Creel wrote in an affidavit that, “the entirety of the ‘my eyes only’ folder was images and videos of nude or partially clothed females.”

“I could not identify any of the females in the photos/videos at the time,” the investigator wrote. “However, most appear to be teenagers or young adults.”

Creel added in his September 2024 affidavit that other potential victims had been identified.

During her investigation in Big Horn County, Deputy Angell said she obtained a video that showed Myracle holding a 16-year-old girl in a chokehold. Myracle reportedly had his arms around the teen’s neck, while she yelled for him to stop. The girl later told authorities that she and Myracle had been dating, and that he’d become angry when she wanted to go out with other friends.

The Big Horn County Attorney’s Office initially charged Myracle with a felony count of strangulation of a household member in connection with the incident, but dropped it and a misdemeanor count of furnishing alcohol to a minor as a part of the plea deal.

While the agreement prevents Park and Big Horn county prosecutors from filing charges related to “known victims,” they can pursue any charges related to any crimes or victims they learn about in the future.

Myracle has been in custody since September 2024, but the roughly a year he spent in the Big Horn County Detention Center won’t count toward his 18- to 20-year sentence in Park County; according to statements made in court, he’ll only get credit for the roughly three months he spent in the Park County Detention Center prior to Monday’s sentencing.

Myracle declined to address the court at this week’s hearing, accepting his sentence without comment.